A man holds on to his dog that viciously attacked a woman in Garrison Crossing in Chilliwack on Aug. 31, 2017. The man then took off, hid the dog and altered its colour. A judge decided May 2, 2018 the dog should be destroyed. (Submitted)

Pit bull involved in vicious attack in Fraser Valley to be destroyed

A pit bull involved in a vicious attack of a woman and her dog in Chilliwack last summer will be destroyed.

Provincial court Judge Andrea Ormiston read her decision Wednesday in the civil case between the Fraser Valley Regional District (FVRD) and the dog’s owner, Kristopher Benson.

The incident leading to the application by the FVRD – which runs animal control services in Chilliwack – took place on Aug. 31 at around 4 p.m. near the entrance to the parking lot of Save-On-Foods in Garrison Crossing.

A woman – who asked not to be named because of Benson’s extensive criminal history – was walking her poodle cross named Ruxpin when Benson’s dog, described as an extra-large pit bull, attacked.

“It was just a horrific experience,” the woman said. “We walk that route all the time and we live in this community. It was a very traumatizing scenario.”

After the incident, Benson defended his dog, whose name is Magnum, on social media. He said the story was “blown way out of control” and that Ruxpin was just as at fault as Magnum in the incident.

Magnum bit Ruxpin leading to emergency surgeries and 15 staples to close his chest and leg. As the pit bull latched on, Ruxpin’s owner tried to pry open Magnum’s mouth. Witnesses tried to help, one smashing a bottle over the dog’s head, a construction worker hitting him with rebar, but it was only when someone sprayed bear mace in the dog’s face that it let go.

The woman had serious tendon damage from the bite, which a doctor said contained bacteria consistent with dog saliva. Benson, however, claimed the woman’s injury was not from Magnum but was from the glass bottle.

(See below story for more photos. Warning: They may be disturbing to some viewers.)

After the violent attack, Benson fled with his dog and kept it hidden for nearly a month.

Eight days after the incident, the FVRD and RCMP executed a warrant to seize the dog, which was already designated an aggressive dog, but it was not at the residence searched. But because of its history that required microchipping, staff found the dog on Sept. 28 and it was seized.